In Poe's time, in Virginia and Maryland, the rhythm of meals was nothing like the French schedule. The day revolved around three moments: an early breakfast, dinner taken at midday (the main, hot meal), and a light supper in the evening. The foundation of almost every modest meal was corn — made into griddlecakes, porridges, breads — accompanied by salted pork and drizzled with molasses, the poor man's sugar. In the Clemm-Poe household, where money was always scarce, this foundation of corn and molasses was the backbone of the home.

Cornmeal and cane molasses are the twin signatures of 19th-century Southern American working-class cuisine. Cheap and filling, they allowed Maria Clemm to feed the entire household on almost nothing. Molasses — the dark residue of sugar refining — brought sweetness and energy where white sugar remained a luxury.